As is well known to those skilled in the art, various hydrocarbon streams have been treated in the presence of hydrogen (either thermally or catalytically) to produce hydrocarbons of lesser molecular weight. While it has been possible to convert hydrocarbons to selected products, it has not heretofore been commercially or economically possible to selectively convert hydrocarbons to methane in high yields.
It is an object of this invention to set forth a process for preparing lower hydrocarbons such as methane. It is another object of this invention to provide a novel catalyst particularly characterized by its high selectivity. Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.